Or Something
by SilverUmbra
Summary: Leaving his Umbreon behind had done a lot more than he had thought. Darkshipping hints.


_**Believe it or not, this fic was inspired from two things. Midna-Mew-Eevee and her shippings list, and some song I heard on the radio, Tattoo by Jordin Sparks of all people. Wow. Well, anyway, this is for the Challenge. Why not give it a try? This one was hard, however. I haven't watched the show for ages, so I'm not sure if it has been clarified where Gary got his Eevee from, so spare me if I'm wrong about no one really knowing. Also, this was inspired by when Oak said that Gary left with only his Blastoise, leaving the rest of his Pokemon back at the lab. So... On with the fic. It's a bit angsty, hints of some mirrorshipping, though only a little. Well, R&R as always and give the Challenge a try, eh?**_

_**Fic! **_

* * *

You are asleep. 

The moonlight filters through the small paneled window, its silvery dust falling upon the desk and chair in which you sit, its magical hue dancing against the darkness of the room and blending with the bluish glow of the computer screen. The shining monitor is filled with windows filled with text full of things I would probably never care to understand. I know how to read, I just never see a reason to bother now, or ever. Other, _important_ things on my list of priorities came first.

You're leaned forward, arms folded, face hidden from view in the white fabric of your long sleeved lab coat. Your slow breathing is muffled by this, like the breeze that slips through the wire screen of the door that opens up toward the meadow. I turn to look at this door, the long grass and deep blue-black sky made crosshatched by the wire that conceals it.

The island is beautiful, though I cannot remember its name, I do know that it is covered in forests with trees so tall that the sun is blocked and I can run throughout the day without being blinded by the light. I know that there are cliffs to climb and caves to explore, into the depths of darkness where the sun has never left its burning mark. Throughout the day, the island is a place of amusement, a place where I can gallop free with no worries. But once night falls I return home, because night is for staying to watch over you, and you only.

We used to live a life of travel and fighting, a life of adventure and humor and difference. A life where nothing was ever the same. Surprises. There were surprises. Yes, when I first went into the caves I was amazed at the waterfalls and carvings of limestone. These were surprises. But soon, I found everything there was to be found, there and in the rest of the island. When traveling, I had never faced something like this: Boredom.

More and more I began to wander off aimlessly, seeping later and later into the day, desperate to find something to do. Before, after finding something, I would rush home and stop you from doing anymore until you came to see what I had discovered. You would sit back, look at what I pointed my black snout to and give a strange sigh, then comment on how great it was and weren't we lucky to be on such an island? It sounded like you were reassuring yourself.

But soon, desperate to keep finding these things to show you, to please you with discoveries, as battling was silly for a researcher to do, I started to drift away from your side, never realizing it until there was a giant gap between us like the canyon to the west of the island.

You turn, mumble something in your sleep, and my long black ears perk, the sensitive works trying to pick up your nocturnal slurs. You have worked too late again. Again you have woken early, and fallen asleep at this wooden stature far too many times. For what, I don't understand. I probably will never understand, will I?

"Umbra..." my ears perk even more so at this, golden rings glowing in small pulses. In public you think that nicknames for us are silly, it was juvenile, that's what you said in front of your colleges. But once everyone was gone, I was 'Umbra'. Even then, I am the only one that stays by your side, and thus I am the only one with a name other than my species.

I move closer and nudge your elbow with my black nose, my tail wavering slightly. You lazily open one brown eye and give me a tired, but happy look, "Hey, girl. I guess I fell asleep again?"

I bark. "_Yes. You stupid head." _We have been together so long that you can easily understand me, no problem. It would take years for Ash and Pikachu to get as close as we were now.

You put one hand on my ebony muzzle and give it a small rub, "No need to call me names,"removing your hand you give a small sigh, rising from your desk and walking over to the window. The moonlight shadows your long white lab coat, hiding your face in the darkness. I go to follow but pause, one paw held up in frozen step.

"We've been through a lot, haven't we?"

I tilt my head, "_What do you mean?"_

You tilt your own head towards the outdoors, spiky brown hair shifting from the breeze and movement. Your brown eyes give the landscape a look of something between worry and annoyance.

"We've been through desserts and oceans... rain forests and caves... places that I never thought I would go to..." you give a soft laugh, toned with good natured humor, "I'm sure that even then we wouldn't be able to hold a candle to Ash's adventures, but still... they were something."

Silence fell, I had nothing to say.

"I'm sorry."

I jerked my black and gold head up to look at you and you're turned to me, your eyes dark, even with the moonlight doing its lunar dance upon your face. I give you a puzzled look, perplexed at your words. It didn't make sense. "_What do you mean?"_

"I know you don't like captivity, Umbra. You always have been wild. You just can't _take_ being at my side anymore, can you?"

This only adds to my confusion, "_You aren't making any sense." _A low whine follows, black ears flatten to my head, "_I do not care about the wild any longer."_

You pause, you hesitate.

I try my best to imagine what had caused this surge of doubt about my loyalty to you, that I would so soon run back to the wild, even after everything I've ever done, seen and thought. It doesn't make sense, and it probably never will. This I have come to expect.

"_Listen."_I say, my voice tender despite my sassy and sadistic nature towards others "_Think for a moment... Thats what you do best, yes?" _I don't wait for your reply, instead I twitch my bushy black and gold tail before continuing "_Lets go over everything... do you remember when you met me?"_

You do. It is hard to forget such a moment.

"_I was hanging off of a cliff, to be specific. Having been chased by Pidgey of all Pokemon, I fled in the opposite direction, which happened to be a cliff. Hanging from there, being pecked by angry birds and howling my head off, I really didn't expect to survive, until blasts of water scared the birds away. And then, someone lifting me up... You." _I give you a soft look, my head tilts in one direction, ear flopping to one side, "_Being wild, I was afraid at first, humans are _never_ good. But I guess there was something different, hm? Well, other than the fact that you can really be a jerk, sometimes."_

A hint of that trademark smirk flickers over your face. I continue.

"_Do remember when I turned into this form for you?"_

Soft nod.

"_Yes, so do I. It was midnight, and we were traveling, per usual... having stopped for the day, we didn't realize that we were Ghastly and Haunter territory... Though the signs _should_ have been a decent warning..." _I laugh, savoring our stupidity from the past, "_And, when were were attacked I was just a normal type, unable to attack them at my level. It was scary..." _I admitted, "_But I wasn't afraid until you tried to run in and keep them from attacking me. That... was stupid."_

"Very stupid."

I grin, "_But brave. Very brave. I guess you were bravely stupid? Anyway, I couldn't take the idea of you being hurt, to this day I don't think I can. You realize that, yes?"_

Nod.

"_Changing into a creature of the night is something that requires extreme trust. Your research shows this, and you saw it first hand that night." _I pause, wondering if I should say what had been on my mind all this time. What the heck, why not? If I was going to act out of character I might as well tie the package.

"_You mean everything to me."_

I want to tell you the hurt I felt when you left me at Oak's place while you traveled with only Blastoise on that spiritual _journey_. I want to say how betrayed, angered, pained I felt day after day when you went so long without even checking on me. How lonely. I want to tell you how much you _really_ meant to me.

"_So why would you even imply that I would ever leave?" _a tone of hurt tints my voice, and I felt my ears flatten against my head, "_You may leave me in a building with others I could care less about while you travel free in the world, never checking up on me, never thinking about how I was, never caring..." _my voice cracks and stops me short.

Suddenly your arms are around my black furred body in a gentle embrace. I've missed this, with my search on the island for things that never mattered, I had replaced and put aside the one thing that did. You.

"_Why?" _I manage to choke out, "_Why would you just leave me there?"_

I finally understand my wanderings. That long time away from you has done more damage to my bond than I had thought. The leaving, almost abandonment of me had done so much more then cause separation anxiety, it had dug deep into me and planted seeds of grief, grief that someone who had always done the right thing would leave me alone when I needed him most. You.

"I didn't want to." you mumble, voice muffled by my black fur, "But I had to remember something... something that was missing,"your voice speeds up, like you are trying to fit more words into one breath than possible, "By the time I had realized what it, no, _who _it was I was offered the job here. The thing that was missing was back three thousand or so miles at Pallet Town. You."

Pause.

"Can you forgive me?"

The moonlight spills into the room, dying everything silver, making everything look pure. Maybe the world isn't pure- those days, months alone had done their work on me, things still hurt, but for now, everything is right.

Much is broken, but it can be fixed.

"_Yes._"

* * *

**_Well, there it is. Ha. Well... R&R, and give this ship a try if you'd like. SU over and out!_**


End file.
